We write to invite your participation in the 10th annual Welcome
Convocation for new undergraduate students from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.,
Monday, September 21st on RIMAC Field (http://convocation.ucsd.edu/).

Participating faculty are invited to a pre-Convocation reception
beginning at 3:30 p.m. nearby (location TBD). The reception will serve
as the staging and assembly area for the Convocation ceremony. Faculty
will line up for the processional by 4:45 p.m. (regalia will not be
worn).

Convocation serves as the inaugural academic event for our new freshmen
and transfer students and welcomes them into our scholarly community.
The 45-minute ceremony will feature brief welcoming remarks by
Associated Students President Dominick Suvonnasupa, Chancellor Pradeep
Khosla, Professor Wayne Yang (Ethnic Studies) and alumna Coleen
Sabatini, MD, MPH '99. Following the ceremony, faculty and students will
share a festive dinner on the field. Signage will direct students to
designated divisional and departmental areas where they can meet and
chat with faculty members from those disciplines.

Robust faculty participation is essential in order to demonstrate to our
students the value we place in this symbolic first step on their
academic journey at UC San Diego. In surveys conducted as part of the
strategic planning process, students identified closer contact with
faculty as one of the keys to a better, stronger student experience. A
prominent faculty showing will send a strong message to our students
about our commitment to their education and our common academic mission.
It is estimated that over 5,500 students and faculty attended last
year's event.

Please RSVP to evc-events@ucsd.edu or x43130 by Thursday, September 17.
We appreciate your support of this important event for our new
undergraduates.